1997–98 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season

Bolton Wanderers
1997–98 season
Chairman Gordon Hargreaves
Manager Colin Todd
Stadium Reebok Stadium
Premiership 18th (relegated)
FA Cup 3rd Round
League Cup 4th Round
Top goalscorer League: Blake (12)
All: Blake (14)
Highest home attendance 25,000, multiple occasions
Lowest home attendance 6,444 v Leyton Orient, 30 September 1997
Average home league attendance 24,352
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

The 1997–1998 season was the 119th season in Bolton Wanderers F.C.'s existence, and their first season back in the Premier League after winning the Football League First Division the previous season. It covers the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998. After 102 years playing at Burnden Park, the club had moved to the new Reebok Stadium.[1]

Season summary

In their new 27,000-seat stadium, Bolton Wanderers began the season as the strongest-looking of the newly promoted side, particularly after paying a club record fee of £3.5 million for Wimbledon striker Dean Holdsworth and holding Manchester United to a 0–0 draw. But it was a season-long struggle for Colin Todd and his men, who lost their battle on the final day of the season and occupied the final relegation place – on goal difference – to complete a hat-trick of newly promoted clubs suffering relegation. Controversially Bolton had a goal against Everton disallowed in the belief that the ball had not crossed the line after crashing down off the Everton crossbar. Television replays showed the ball had indeed crossed the line. The game finished goal-less and the two sides finished level on points with Everton surviving on their superior goal difference. Bolton fans complained bitterly that the goal and resulting 1–0 win would have kept them in the Premier League at Everton's expense. Everton fans countered by pointing to Bolton's inability to hold onto a lead during the season while Everton had a good record of coming from behind to draw or even win against their fellow strugglers. With an hour to play it is impossible to say with any degree of confidence that Bolton would indeed have been able to hold on to their goal lead.

Final league table

Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Arsenal (C) 38 23 9 6 68 33 +35 78 1998–99 UEFA Champions League Group stage
2 Manchester United 38 23 8 7 73 26 +47 77 1998–99 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round
3 Liverpool 38 18 11 9 68 42 +26 65 1998–99 UEFA Cup First round
4 Chelsea 38 20 3 15 71 43 +28 63 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup First round 1
5 Leeds United 38 17 8 13 57 46 +11 59 1998–99 UEFA Cup First round
6 Blackburn Rovers 38 16 10 12 57 52 +5 58
7 Aston Villa 38 17 6 15 49 48 +1 57
8 West Ham United 38 16 8 14 56 57 −1 56
9 Derby County 38 16 7 15 52 49 +3 55
10 Leicester City 38 13 14 11 51 41 +10 53
11 Coventry City 38 12 16 10 46 44 +2 52
12 Southampton 38 14 6 18 50 55 −5 48
13 Newcastle United 38 11 11 16 35 44 −9 44 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup First round 2
14 Tottenham Hotspur 38 11 11 16 44 56 −12 44
15 Wimbledon 38 10 14 14 34 46 −12 44
16 Sheffield Wednesday 38 12 8 18 52 67 −15 44
17 Everton 38 9 13 16 41 56 −15 40
18 Bolton Wanderers (R) 38 9 13 16 41 61 −20 40 Relegation to 1998–99 Football League First Division
19 Barnsley (R) 38 10 5 23 37 82 −45 35
20 Crystal Palace (R) 38 8 9 21 37 71 –34 33 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup Third round 3
Relegation to the 1998–99 Football League First Division

Updated to games played on 10 May 1998.
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
1 Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as defending champions and were the League Cup winners.
2 As Arsenal qualified for the Champions League, their Cup Winners' Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Newcastle United, the losing finalists.
3 Despite being relegated, Crystal Palace qualified for the 1998 Intertoto Cup.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results Summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
38 9 13 16 41 61  −20 40 7 8 4 25 22  +3 2 5 12 16 39  −23

Source: 1997-98 FA Premier League table

Results by round
Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundAAAHAHHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHHAHAHAHA
Result W D L D L D D D L L W D L D W W L D L D L D L L D D L L W W L D W L L W W L
Position 5 8 13 12 16 16 16 17 17 18 17 17 18 18 18 13 14 16 17 16 17 18 19 19 19 18 19 19 19 19 19 18 18 18 19 18 17 18

Source: 11v11.com: 1997-98 Bolton Wanderers results
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Results

FA Premier League

Date Opponents H / A Result

F – A

 Scorers Attendance
9 August 1997 Southampton A 1 – 0 Blake 43' 15,206
23 August 1997 Coventry City A 2 – 2 Blake (2) 69', 76' 16,633
27 August 1997 Barnsley A 1 – 2 Beardsley 31' 18,661
1 September 1997 Everton H 0 – 0 23,131
13 September 1997 Arsenal A 1 – 4 Thompson 13' 38,138
20 September 1997 Manchester United H 0 – 0 25,000
23 September 1997 Tottenham Hotspur H 1 – 1 Thompson 20' (pen) 23,433
27 September 1997 Crystal Palace A 2 – 2 Beardsley 36', Johansen 66' 17,134
4 October 1997 Aston Villa H 0 – 1 24,186
18 October 1997 West Ham United A 0 – 3 24,864
26 October 1997 Chelsea H 1 – 0 Holdsworth 72' 24,080
1 November 1997 Liverpool H 1 – 1 Blake 84' 25,000
8 November 1997 Sheffield Wednesday A 0 – 5 25,027
22 November 1997 Leicester City A 0 – 0 20,464
29 November 1997 Wimbledon H 1 – 0 Blake 89' 22,703
1 December 1997 Newcastle United H 1 – 0 Blake 22' 24,494
6 December 1997 Blackburn Rovers A 1 – 3 Frandsen 84' 25,503
14 December 1997 Derby County H 3 – 3 Thompson 50' (pen), Blake 73', Pollock 77' 23, 037
20 December 1997 Leeds United A 0 – 2 31,163
26 December 1997 Barnsley H 1 – 1 Bergsson 38' 25,000
28 December 1997 Everton A 2 – 3 Bergsson 42', Sellars 43' 37,149
10 January 1998 Southampton H 0 – 0 23,333
17 January 1998 Newcastle United A 1 – 2 Blake 72' 36,767
31 January 1998 Coventry City H 1 – 5 Sellars 21' 25,000
7 February 1998 Manchester United A 1 – 1 B.Taylor 60' 55,156
21 February 1998 West Ham United H 1 – 1 Blake 86' 25,000
1 March 1998 Tottenham Hotspur A 0 – 1 29,032
8 March 1998 Liverpool A 1 – 2 Thompson 7' 44,532
14 March 1998 Sheffield Wednesday H 3 – 2 Frandsen 31', Blake 53', Thompson 69' (pen) 24,847
28 March 1998 Leicester City H 2 – 0 Thompson (2) 52', 89' 25,000
31 March 1998 Arsenal H 0 – 1 25,000
4 April 1998 Wimbledon A 0 – 0 11,356
11 April 1998 Blackburn Rovers H 2 – 1 Holdsworth 20', B. Taylor 67' 25,000
13 April 1998 Derby County A 0 – 4 29,126
18 April 1998 Leeds United H 2 – 3 Thompson 56', Fish 89' 25,000
25 April 1998 Aston Villa A 3 – 1 Cox 18', B.Taylor 41', Blake 84' 38,392
2 May 1998 Crystal Palace H 5 – 2 Blake 7', Fish 20', Phillips 30', Thompson 70', Holdsworth 79' 24,449
10 May 1998 Chelsea A 0 – 2 34,845

FA Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – A

 Scorers Attendance
3 January 1998 Round 3 Barnsley A 0 – 1 15,042

Coca-Cola Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – A

 Scorers Attendance
16 September 1997 Round 2 First Leg Leyton Orient A 3 – 1 Todd 13', Frandsen 20', McGinlay 79' 4,128
30 September 1997 Round 2 Second Leg Leyton Orient H 4 – 4 (aet)
7 – 5 (agg)		 Blake (2) 8' 35', McGinlay 65' (pen), Gunnlaugsson 66' 6,444
14 October 1997 Round 3 Wimbledon H 2 – 0 (aet) Pollock 91', McAllister 94' (og) 9,875
18 November 1997 Round 4 Middlesbrough A 1 – 2 (aet) Thompson 33' 22,801

Transfers

Transfers in

Player From Date Fee
England Robbie Elliott England Newcastle United 1 July 1997 £2,500,000
Iceland Arnar Gunnlaugsson Iceland IA Akranes 10 July 1997 £100,000
England Peter Beardsley England Newcastle United 18 August 1997 £450,000
South Africa Mark Fish Italy Lazio 19 September 1997 £2,000,000
England Mike Whitlow England Leicester City 19 September 1997 £500,000
England Dean Holdsworth England Wimbledon 2 October 1997 £3,500,000
Finland Jussi Jääskeläinen Finland VPS Vaasa 11 November 1997 £100,000

Transfers out

Player To Date Fee
England Scott Green England Wigan Athletic 1 July 1997 £300,000
England David Lee England Wigan Athletic 14 July 1997 £250,000
Finland Mixu Paatelainen England Wolverhampton Wanderers 8 August 1997 £200,000
Scotland John McGinlay England Bradford City 6 November 1997 £625,000
Scotland Steve McAnespie England Fulham 27 November 1997 £100,000
England Simon Coleman England Southend 20 February 1998 Free
England Jamie Pollock England Manchester City 20 March 1998 £1,000,000
England Alan Thompson England Aston Villa 5 June 1998 £4,500,000

Loans in

Player From Date From Date To
England Franz Carr Italy Reggiana 24 October 1997 28 January 1998
England Bob Taylor England West Bromwich Albion 9 January 1998 9 February 1998
Switzerland Gaetano Giallanza France Nantes 26 March 1998 31 May 1998
England John Salako England Coventry City 26 March 1998 31 May 1998
England Bob Taylor England West Bromwich Albion 26 March 1998 31 May 1998

Loans out

Player To Date From Date To
England Simon Coleman England Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 September 1997 2 October 1997
England Bryan Small England Luton Town 8 September 1997 12 December 1997
England Greg Strong England Blackpool 21 November 1997 10 February 1998
England Scott Taylor England Rotherham United 12 December 1997 7 February 1998
England Bryan Small England Bradford City 19 December 1997 17 January 1998
England Bryan Small England Bury 30 January 1998 31 May 1998
England Peter Beardsley England Manchester City 17 February 1998 11 March 1998
England Peter Beardsley England Fulham 26 March 1998 31 May 1998
England Scott Taylor England Blackpool 26 March 1998 26 April 1998

Appearances

Bolton used a total of 29 players during the season.

P Player Position PL FAC LC Total
1 Denmark Per Frandsen Midfielder 38 (0) 1 (0) 4 (0) 43 (0)
2 Wales Nathan Blake Striker 35 (0) 1 (0) 3 (0) 39 (0)
3 Iceland Guðni Bergsson Defender 34 (1) 1 (0) 3 (0) 38 (1)
4 England Alan Thompson Midfielder 33 (0) 1 (0) 4 (0) 38 (0)
5 Republic of Ireland Keith Branagan Goalkeeper 34 (0) 0 (0) 3 (0) 37 (0)
6 England Jamie Pollock Midfielder 25 (1) 1 (0) 4 (0) 30 (1)
7 England Andy Todd Defender 23 (2) 1 (0) 4 (0) 28 (2)
8 England Scott Sellars Midfielder 22 (0) 1 (0) 3 (0) 26 (0)
9 South Africa Mark Fish Defender 22 (0) 1 (0) 1 (0) 24 (0)
10 England Jimmy Phillips Defender 21 (1) 0 (0) 1 (1) 22 (2)
11 England Neil Cox Defender 20 (1) 0 (1) 0 (0) 20(2)
12 England Peter Beardsley Striker 14 (3) 0 (1) 3 (0) 17 (4)
13 England Dean Holdsworth Striker 17 (3) 0 (0) 0 (0) 17 (3)
14 England Mike Whitlow Defender 13 (0) 1 (0) 3 (0) 16 (0)
15 Northern Ireland Gerry Taggart Defender 14 (1) 0 (0) 1 (0) 15 (1)
16 England John Sheridan Midfielder 12 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 12 (0)
17 England Bob Taylor Striker 10 (2) 0 (0) 0 (0) 10 (2)
18 England Chris Fairclough Striker 10 (1) 0 (0) 0 (0) 10 (1)
19 Scotland John McGinlay Striker 4 (3) 0 (0) 2 (1) 6 (4)
20 England Gavin Ward Goalkeeper 4 (2) 1 (0) 1 (0) 6 (2)
21 Denmark Michael Johansen Midfielder 4 (12) 0 (0) 1 (2) 5 (14)
22 England Robbie Elliott Defender 4 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 4 (0)
23 Iceland Arnar Gunnlaugsson Striker 2 (13) 1 (0) 0 (3) 3 (16)
24 Scotland Steve McAnespie Defender 1 (1) 0 (0) 2 (0) 3 (1)
25 England Hasney Aljofree Defender 2 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 2 (0)
26 England Greg Strong Defender 0 (0) 0 (0) 1 (1) 1 (1)
27 England John Salako Midfielder 0 (7) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (7)
28 England Franz Carr Midfielder 0 (5) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (5)
29 Switzerland Gaetano Giallanza Striker 0 (3) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (3)

Top scorers

P Player Position PL FAC LC Total
1 Wales Nathan Blake Striker 12 0 2 14
2 England Alan Thompson Midfielder 9 0 1 10
3= Denmark Per Frandsen Midfielder 2 0 1 3
3= England Dean Holdsworth Striker 3 0 0 3
3= England Bob Taylor Striker 3 0 0 3

References

  1. ↑ "Bolton Wanderers 1997-98". bwfcstats.com. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
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